Proceedings of the 1st international conference on Theory and practice of electronic governance
Process aware information systems: a human centered perspective
APWeb/WAIM'07 Proceedings of the joint 9th Asia-Pacific web and 8th international conference on web-age information management conference on Advances in data and web management
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This paper employs the analysis of an interpretive case study within a Regional Train Operating Company (RTOC) to arrive at theoretical understandings of Information Systems (IS). Giddens' structuration theory' is developed which offers an account of structure andagency; social practices developing and changing over time and space. The most common application of structuration theory to the IS domain is the analysis of empirical situations using the dimensions of the duality of structure' model. The best-known attempts to theorize ISconcerns using this approach have come from Orlikowski from whom this paper draws particular attention. Structurational concepts (system integration, time-space distanciation and routinization) as well as Giddens' conceptualization of social change are further developed to help explain IS phenomena. Some fifty interviews were conducted at every level in the company (RTOC) from engineers and train drivers to the board of directors. Participant observation was also undertaken with the authors attending twenty-one meetings, workshops and presentations. The resulting theoretical model describes IS embedded in social practices, which evolve to display both regularity and change.